'Tears from both of us': Martin's World Cup tribute to mum

When Kangaroos players sat around at the start of the World Cup and talked about the sacrifices their parents had made to help them achieve a green-and-gold jersey, it resonated with Liam Martin more than most.

Martin grew up in Temora and his mother, Maxine, would regularly have to drive for up to three hours to take him to games.

After signing with the Panthers while still at school, he was allowed to stay at home but that meant a nine hour round trip to Sydney for SG Ball games.

It’s little wonder that there were tears from both Martin and Maxine when he made his Test debut against Scotland in Coventry and there are likely to be more when she gets to see her son play for Australia in the flesh.

“I think mum was a bit disappointed she missed my debut but they were all in on the Zoom call for the jersey presentation and it was pretty emotional,” Martin said.

“She just said how proud she was and how hard I have worked for it, and how much it meant to her. There were tears from both of us.

“The first night we were here we all sat around, and I think we all had the same sort of story, our parents just did so much for us.”

Martin spoke about the hours Maxine spent driving him to and from games or training. He estimates she drove up to 1000km per week during the 2015 SG Ball season.

“I grew up in the country and mum did a lot for me. She sacrificed a lot of her time, and she would drive me everywhere,” he said.

“I would travel two-and-a-half or three hours just for country footy, and then when I started playing SG Ball I stayed at home and would have to travel to Penrith. That was a four-and-a-half hour trip, so it was a nine hour round trip.

“Pretty much every weekend she would drive me there and drive me back. I would go up for captain’s run, stay the night, play the game and come back. That was every week of the SG Ball season. They allowed me to finish school at home and then when I finished, I move to Penrith.”

The 25-year-old hasn’t looked back, establishing himself in the Panthers side, then the NSW Origin team and now the Kangaroos squad for the World Cup.

Martin, whose uncle Trent Barrett played 15 Tests for the Kangaroos, made his debut alongside Penrith team-mates Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo during Australia’s 84-0 demolition of the Bravehearts.

He is hoping to cement a spot in the Kangaroos side for the sudden death matches of the tournament and is vying with Angus Crichton and Jeremiah Nanai for a secondrow berth alongside South Sydney captain Cameron Murray.

“It made it even more special with all of us debuting together. I have obviously played with a few of the boys in the team before so it was just great.

“It is going to be tough with such quality backrowers, like Gus and Nanai. They are both killing it and that is a good position to be in,” Martin said.

“When players are playing at their best it makes you step up to the plate. Hopefully I can secure a spot but if not, I will just do what the team needs.

“I have obviously played with a few of the boys in the team before, but it was great to play with some other players.

“Origin was great, you learn of guys like Teddy [James Tedesco] and Nathan was there but in this team you learn off [Cameron] Munster and Daly Cherry-Evans.

“They have been around for a while and are really experienced so you just try to learn from what they do and absorb as much information as you can.”

Penrith have the largest representation of any club at the World Cup, with 19 players spread across most nations, including NSW Cup captain Alec Susino, who plays for Italy alongside former Panther Anton Iaria.

“It just goes to show the culture that has been built at Penrith,” Martin said. “We watch all of the game and obviously Samoa had a bit of a rough start but it was great to see them bounce back and play to the standard they can play. That is the quality of players they are.

“I have been messaging [Tonga hooker] Soni Luke and all the Samoan boys, I obviously got to talk to the Fijian boys after the game, so it is great having them over here. Hopefully we be able to catch up.”